Second Chance
by idsaveyouinaheartbeat
Summary: Drabble/one shot based off the quote "I love you." "No, you don't. Thanks for saying it though." from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


**Hello reader, as the summary says, this is based off a quote from BTVS and when I heard it I couldn't help but think of Klaroline and how that scene could play out if it were them saying it, so that brings us here.**

**A little info: let's just say that this is set before the whole Silas thing, because I really hated everything that had to do with Silas and the cure.**

**So happy reading & enjoy**.

* * *

He's terrified, and that's not an emotion he feels a lot. He's felt it about three times in his entire existence; when he was human and Mikael would beat him, when he triggered his werewolf gene, and when Stefan had his hand in his chest. In all of those situations he was helpless – another pesky emotion he loathes – just like his current situation.

It seems as though the Bennett witch has been practicing and controlling her magic, it would explain how she managed to subdue him. One moment he was enjoying a glass of bourbon in front of the fireplace contemplating his life – like he often finds himself doing – and the next he was lying flat on his back in the middle of the room vaguely registering that the witch was muttering some type of spell as the elder Salvatore hovered over him with a smirk and a malicious glee in his eyes. He tried and tried to gain control over the situation but it was of no use. He couldn't move a muscle and he started to feel the panic creep into his body. Control was the one constant in his life. No matter what life threw at him, he took control over it and always came out victorious. He always had to be in control because even if he wouldn't admit it out loud he feared something like this would happen if his control slipped.

"Any last words before you're nothing but a long forgotten scary bedtime tale?" he heard the raven-haired vampire ask.

"The witch may be able to hold me down, but in case you've forgotten I cannot be killed." Klaus sneered, feigning a smug like confidence he doesn't feel.

Damon seemed to have expected this response and moved to grab something from inside his jacket, "You mean you can't be killed without one of these." He said in a singsong voice, waving a particularly familiar looking stake in his hand.

Klaus's eyes widened, "Impossible, we destroyed them all." He breathed out, trying to control the fear that was surely making its way onto his face. If he had been able to move before he would have stilled instantly at the stake.

Damon smiled, "Not always one step ahead now are ya buddy?" he mocked, as his hand with the stake moved dangerously close to the hybrid's chest.

Klaus tried to think of anything he could say that might stop what he was sure was going to happen from happening but he was coming up short, he couldn't think of anything that would dissuade him. And then he finally thought of it.

"The bloodline. If I die, you die." Klaus spoke.

Damon pulled back a bit and lowered the stake, and the bit of relief Klaus felt flow through him was extinguished when Damon began to speak, "Ah yes that. I admit, it was quite the challenge, but alas we found a way around it." He sighed at Klaus's skeptic expression, "You see we have a witch, and witches do spells and we searched high and low for a spell to break the bloodline but we found it and poof," he made an explosion like gesture with his hand, "we are no longer linked to you." He finished explaining with a proud smirk on his face.

Klaus felt rage. The one thing keeping them from finishing him off was no longer viable. He had nothing to bargain with. Taking in the proud sense of accomplishment of finally getting the upper hand on Damon's face, it really set in that he was going to die today – at the hands of a cocky annoying excuse for a vampire at that.

Damon's smirk grew as he saw the emotions pass over Klaus's face as the reality of the situation sunk in. He was more than happy to raise the stake once more, preparing to plunge it into his chest, killing the guy who has been making everyone's life a living hell.

As Klaus saw him raising the stake he couldn't help all the things that ran through his mind. Where were his siblings? Why aren't they here stopping this? Had they been killed as well? Or are they going to be next? Along with the thoughts of his siblings he couldn't keep his thoughts from traveling to a certain baby vampire. Along with her came an overwhelming amount of regret, what ifs, and the things that will never happen.

He regretted never telling her how much she truly meant to him. He regretted ever causing her any pain, and never apologizing for it. Even if he believed it to be a weakness, he regretted never being man enough to tell her he loved her.

What if he had come into her life at a different time, and they had met under different circumstances? What if he never involved Tyler in his hybrid business and had let their relationship play and fizzle out on its own? What if he hadn't given her every god damn reason to despise him?

He will never get to show her the world. He will never see her face light up at each new place he showed her. He will never get to hold her, to touch her, or to kiss her. He'll never know what it's like to see her face brighten with utter happiness because of him. He'll never be able to get her out of this town and make her see that she's worth more than all of this, all of them. And he will never know what it feels like to be loved by her.

Suddenly a heart wrenching thought came to him, what if she knows about his quickly approaching demise and truly doesn't care?

He closed his eyes as he felt a burning his chest and he wasn't sure if it was caused by his thoughts or if Damon had stabbed him already. Opening his eyes he sees that it was the latter. He quickly closed his eyes again and prepared himself for the flames that were about to take over his body. After a few moments he didn't feel anything other than the burning discomfort of a stake in his heart. He opened his eyes to find Damon standing up, making his way to an exhausted looking witch and felt his confusion growing.

"That's it? All that and it's not even white oak?" He asked. He knows he should be filled with the need for revenge, but all he could feel was confusion. He had seemed too cocky, so sure of himself and he had to admit this was quite anticlimactic.

"It may not be white oak, but it's a special little stake that was made just for you." Damon answered with a wink.

"Color me intrigued, what is so special about this particular stake?" He asked the younger vampire.

Damon walked back over to him, seemingly convinced that his witchy friend wasn't going to pass out. "You see, it has properties of the white oak, but not quite it. You're not going to burst into flames, but you will die, after you suffer slowly and painfully – as long as that stake is in your heart. And here's the best part; no matter how many times you try to pull that stake out and end your suffering, it won't budge. It's stuck there until you finally die." Damon explained with a cruel smile.

Klaus pondered this for a moment. Regardless of the suffering he was supposed to be going through, surely that witch can't stay here wasting away her magic to keep him in place, and when she does stop – whether by choice or from passing out – what's stopping him from ripping out both of their hearts? And he voiced this question to Damon.

"Well we're not dumb enough to be here when Bonbon here releases you, and when she does you'll be in too much pain to even move, let alone chase us and kill us." He replied and Klaus was getting real sick of that smirk.

A few moments have passed and Klaus is starting to feel what Damon described. The burning in his chest spread throughout his entire torso and up his neck and despite what he was told about the stake, his hands were itching to rip it out of him. He was sure Damon could see the pain on his face because he got up and started talking to the Bennett girl. He couldn't even focus on what they were saying; the pain was nothing like he felt before. It was as if someone was injecting a mixture of vervain and wolfsbane into his veins. He closed his eyes wishing this would just end already. He opened them and looked over to Damon when he heard him speak.

"Alright Klausy, we'll be on our way, have fun." With one last smirk he grabbed onto the witch and flashed them out of the mansion.

Even though it was his body that was being restrained, when he was released he let out a breath as if he hadn't been breathing. He immediately went to flash after them but he didn't even make it to the door before he fell to ground screaming in pain. His hand went to the stake protruding out of him and tugged at it, confirming that Damon was telling the truth. He was stuck like this, and this was how he was going to die.

Getting himself up off the floor, he used almost all of his energy to make it up the stairs and into his bedroom. By the time he laid himself on his bed he was panting and the pain was spreading throughout his whole body.

He wished he could see her once more before he took his last breath. He doesn't know how long this process is, for all he knows he could be like this for days before he finally died. Even if she was to yell at him and tell him this plan was her idea, he just wanted the comfort of hearing her voice and seeing her face. Pathetic as it may be, this is his last dying wish, he muses.

Not wanting his last words to her being whatever it was – he was too out of it right now to even remember – he leaned over to the table next to his bed and grabbed the sketch book and pencil that lay on top of it with a shaking hand. Flipping onto a new page he began to write…

_My dearest Caroline..._

* * *

Caroline was sitting at the boarding house staring at Damon as he told everyone what he and Bonnie did. Everyone seemed to have a different reaction to his story. Looking at her friends, she took in their expressions; Matt looked bored but slightly relieved, Elena was staring at Damon with a disgusting look of love and pride, and Stefan looked troubled, whether because of what he just heard or the look the love of his life is giving his brother, she wasn't sure. She guessed it was a mix of both. And of course Damon was beaming with pride and accomplishment that one of his idiotic plans worked and Bonnie just looked tired with a slightly vacant look in her eyes.

And Caroline? Well she was just a mess of emotions right now. She always thought that if Klaus was to die, everything would be perfect. Everything would go back to normal. But now, they've been through too much; her and her friends, and _her and Klaus_. They've become kind of friends. Sure he caused a lot of destruction and he ran Tyler out of town, but he's trying to make up for it – with her at least. And as much as she hated to admit it, the hybrid worked his way into her heart. After hearing Damon go on about Klaus's fast approaching death she can't find it in her to feel anything but heartbreaking sadness. She always assumed that they had time. That she would make him work for it for a little longer and surprise him one day and take pleasure in seeing the shock and happiness that would surely be on his face. But now... now she'll never get that. She'll never know what it's like to be with him, to see what he looks like when he's just waking up, and she'll never know what it's like to finally be someone's number one.

She of course can't let her friends know this, she'd be banished or something else equally as dramatic. So she does what she does best, puts a mask of happiness on her face and hides her true feelings. And as per usual, no one notices. So she plays her part, acting happy and relieved and she slightly hates herself for even pretending that his death makes her happy. Has their life flipped and turned so much that celebrating someone's death – regardless of who they are and what they've done – is something that they do?

After exchanging happy words and plans of a Klaus free future everyone started to go their own ways. Stefan and Damon took Elena home, probably to keep her safe from the ever present danger that follows her around. Matt took off mumbling something about work, and that left her and a dazed looking Bonnie. She was about to ask if she was alright when she started to speak.

"I feel a little guilty," Bonnie confessed in a quiet voice, causing Caroline to feel a bubble of hope grow thinking maybe she isn't alone in not wanting Klaus dead but then Bonnie kept speaking, "I lied to Damon about the stake." She finished.

Caroline froze as she processed her friend's words. She lied about the stake. Does that mean he won't die? Does that mean that the stake can come out? What exactly do her words mean?

"What are you talking about Bonnie?" She asked with a low voice.

Bonnie sighed, "He will die, there's no doubt about it, but there is a way for the stake to come out." She replied.

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean? If the stake can come out, he won't die?" she said, although it came out more like a question, she was getting confused.

Bonnie shook her head, "The way the stake comes out is highly unlikely – which is why I never bothered to mention it to Damon."

"Oookay… and what way is that?" she asked slowly, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice. If she found out how, then maybe she can save him.

She's startled when Bonnie suddenly lets out a dry laugh, "It's funny really, you won't believe that the only person that can take that stake out his chest is his one true love," she scoffs, "as if he has one." She rolls her eyes and stands up, gathering her things to leave.

Caroline's eyes widen and the sorrow sets in again. There's a way to save him, but she's not it. Sure he likes her and she's admitted to herself that she maybe might like him back, but that's not true love. There's no way he loves her, and even if he did, she doesn't love him back. Right?

* * *

The next day Caroline had made up her mind and decided she was going to go see Klaus and she hoped to a god she no longer believed in that he was still alive when she arrived. After Bonnie's confession the previous day Caroline had gone home to try and wrap her mind around it. She came to the conclusion that she wasn't his one true love and she wasn't going to try to remove the stake because she would only be disappointed when nothing happened. So she went to sleep and was haunted by visions of him writhing in pain and dying all alone crying out for people who weren't there for him.

She made a quick phone call to Bonnie to tell her that she was going to go see Tyler. She told her friend that since Klaus wasn't an issue anymore, she thought she'd go find Tyler and surprise him. Bonnie was a bit worried at first, saying that a phone call or text would suffice but she eventually let it go after Caroline put her acting skills to use and shed a fake tear or two. As Caroline made her way over to Klaus's mansion she thought back on her conversation with Bonnie. She hated lying to friends but she needed this. She also thought about what all her friends didn't know about her and Tyler. The two had split a month or so back. It wasn't messy and dramatic, and no one cheated. It was a simple breakup where the two people realized that they wanted different things and were different people than they were when they fell for each other. Caroline would always want that reassurance that she's not a second choice – no matter how insecure that may be – and Tyler would always want a pack and there would be a time when that pack is the most important thing to him. They realized that they – a vampire and a werewolf – were doomed from the start. It hurt for a while, she cried and even he shed a few tears, but they both agreed it was for the best. They wished each other well and promised to not let this ruin their friendship.

Before she knew it she was in front the huge mansion that Klaus is currently inside of, possibly dead. After calming herself down and giving herself a slight pep talk she was storming into the mansion without knocking.

"Klaus?" she tentatively called out.

She received no reply and that unnerved her. She made her way through the rooms she thought he might be in, and then thought he could be in his bedroom, so she spent the next ten minutes searching for it and when she found it she didn't stop to knock before barging in.

She inhaled sharply when she took in his appearance. He was on his bed, his body tense, shaking, and covered in sweat and his face was scrunched up in pain. She noticed there was a lot of blood and rips in his shirt near the stake as if he tried to claw through his flesh to get it out. She felt her break a little at the sight.

Making her way over to the bed she sighed as she sat down next to him and gently put her hand over his, "Klaus?" she whispered.

His eyes snapped open and his whipped in her direction. He was clearly shocked to see her which she expected but she didn't expect the anger.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "What are you doing here?" he nearly snarled at her.

She removed her hand from his and stared at him in confusion. Why was he mad at her? What had she done?

"Damon told us what he did; I came to make sure you hadn't died. But I guess I'll be going." She told him as she got off the bed, the hurt evident in her voice.

Klaus was conflicted, he thought she played a part in this but the tone of her voice told him otherwise but why would she come see him? Shouldn't she be happy? "Wait." His hand reached out to grab onto hers, but was too weak and it slipped the moment it made contact with hers.

She looked over at him and his weak arm that was slightly hanging limp off the bed and her chest constricted. She never thought she'd ever see him like this, nor did she ever want to. She sat back down and grabbed his hand and nestled it between her two hands while smiling softly at him.

"You're here. Why?" He asked in gently voice, yet still rough from the pain he is in.

"I needed to see you before you…" she trailed off not being able to say it.

"Died." He finished for her.

She nodded sadly. She lifted one of her hands from his and gently touched his cheek. Her warm soft skin was the complete opposite of his skin that was cold and clammy. He really is beautiful, she thought.

"Caroline…" he called her name grabbing her attention from her musings. "I'm glad you're here… in the drawer of the table next to the bed there's a letter… for you… I want you to read it after this is all over… and I'm gone…" He managed to say in between panting.

Her eyes grew wide. He wrote her a letter, on his death bed. Suddenly the situation got a lot more real when she realized there was no fight left in Klaus. He had submitted to his death and now she has to too. She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "No… no you… you're not going to be gone okay? We can find a way… we can do something." She stuttered as she began to ramble as the familiar panic crept up on her again.

He smiled at her, "There is no way Caroline… I'm going to die and… and I've said all I need to say in that letter… please promise me that you'll read it." He pleaded.

She scooted closer to him on the bed and grabbed his face between her hands and shook her head, "No no no no. You are not dying okay. You can't die; you're not supposed to die. Not when I.." she trialed off as the tears in her eyes finally fell and a small sob escaped her mouth.

He regarded her with sad eyes, "Not when you what?" His voice getting quieter as his pain started getting infinitely worse.

She noticed this and clutched onto him tighter. She closed her eyes as more tears fell. "Not when I realized that I love you." She whispered, not opening her eyes.

Klaus smiled at her, his eyelids getting heavier, "No, you don't. But thank you for saying it." His voice barely a whisper as he felt himself start to drift away from her.

Her eyes opened at his words and she was about to argue when she noticed that he wasn't holding onto her anymore and his eyes weren't open. Despair and terror took over her body as she began shaking his body. She altered from demanding him to wake up and to muttering the word no over and over. Her crying began to get louder and her body started to shake when she didn't get a response from him. Then she remembered what Bonnie told her about the stake, and she grasped onto the stake desperately – her previous thoughts about it be damned – and pulled.

She pulled the stake so hard that when it came out his chest with a sickly suction noise she fell off the bed. It took her a minute to realize that it had worked; the stake was in her hand, no longer in his heart. She leapt back onto the bed and began shaking him again.

"Klaus! Klaus wake up! It worked! Please… you have to wake up… please…" She whispered, as sorrow flushed over her happiness when he didn't move a muscle.

Sobs wracked her body and she slowly slid off the bed and curled in on herself on the floor. She remembered the letter he mentioned and slowly crawled towards the bedside table and opened the drawer and grabbed what was inside it. She pulled out what appeared to be a sketchbook. She lazily flipped through it, smiling slightly at his amazing talent before she landed on the one page in the book that was filled with his familiar scrawl. She felt more tears escape her eyes as she began reading.

_My dearest Caroline,_

_I am very regretful to be having to write this letter to you. You must already know of my demise, might even have had a part in it. If you did, I forgive you. It's known I can't stay angry with you for long love. I hope you are to find this letter, or someone will find it and be kind enough to bring it to you. You have no reason to read it and every reason to throw it away without a second thought. But in case of the chance you decide to read it, I shall keep writing._

_They say your life flashes before your eyes when faced with death, and they are right. Mostly though the flashes I saw were all of you. Of the few memories we've shared, of the things I could have – should have – done differently, of the things I'll never get the chance to experience with you, and most importantly the things I didn't say to you that I should have._

_You can probably guess what my feelings are for you Caroline, but I have to at least say them to you once, even if it's just in a letter._

_I love you Caroline. I love you so completely and so unconditionally, in a way that I never thought was possible for me, a way that I never thought I wanted. I am grateful for having met you. Even if my love was unrequited, I wouldn't change it for the world. I lived many lifetimes and it was only when I met you that I started to feel something for the first time since I was human. So thank you for that Caroline. Thank you for making me feel human again, even it was unintentional._

_I understand that you hate me, I deserved nothing more. Despite how I so desperately wished I was someone worthy of your smile, of your love._

_Promise me something love. Promise me that you will get out of this tortured town and discover all the wonders that out there just waiting for you. You deserve every bit of happiness the world can offer and you shouldn't feel sorry for wanting it._

_Well love, I think it's my time. My hand is beginning to cramp, I'm afraid it might go and fall off if I continue. So I'll leave you with these last words…_

_I'm sorry for all the pain I may have caused you, it was never my intention. I also apologize for promising to show you the world and not being able to follow through. Whether or not you would have accepted, I like to try to be a man of my word._

_I can promise you that I will watch over you from the other side, that is if I'm not being tortured by hundreds of revengeful dead supernaturals._

_Try not to be too happy that I'm gone sweetheart._

_I love you._

_Fondly, Klaus_

Caroline didn't know how she managed to read the entire letter through all of her sobbing. She could barely see through all the tears in her eyes, the tears that fell to the page smudging the writing, and her hands holding the letter were shaking uncontrollably. The letter soon slipped from her hand and she crumbled until she was a sobbing mess on the floor of her could-have-been-lover's bedroom. She stayed in the same position until her eyes were dry and her throat ached from screaming.

She never thought she'd be here; balling her eyes out because of Klaus, because he's dead. He caused her friends so much pain, but the thought of him not being around, never seeing his insufferable smirk, never hearing his delicious accent, and never scoffing at his flirtations while trying to hide her smile ever again made her so incredibly sad that she can't ever remember feeling a pain like this before.

Who knew that the moment she realized her true feelings would be a moment too late.

She reluctantly pulled herself up off the floor and made her way back to Klaus's body, "I'm so sorry Kl-" Her voice died in her throat at the sight of his empty bed and her eyes grew comically wide.

"No need to be apologizing love, although it seems a thank you is in order." She heard that delicious accent murmur behind her.

She whirled around and almost started crying again seeing him standing in front of her, healthy and not dead. She threw herself into his arms, not caring about how pathetic he must think she is right now. All she cares about is that he's back and he's not dead.

"Oh god Klaus. How did you – I saw you – you were dead and now you're not and you're here and oh god you're not dead. I know you don't believe me, but I had no idea about Damon's plan until after and then I came here and tried to save you and then Bonnie told me about the stake and I pulled it out and nothing happened and I thought you were dead and I meant what I said, I swear I do, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't and I know you know what I'm talking about and…" she trailed off not knowing what else say and she ran her hands over his back and neck and up to his face as she pulled back to look at his face, smiling as she did so.

He chuckled at her ramblings and ran his hands up her waist and settled his hands at the small of her back. It took him a minute to process all of what she had just said and when he did his eyes widened just the slightest and his lips parted as he gazed at her in wonder. "You meant it?" he whispered, internally cursing himself for being so weak and asking but he needs to know for sure.

She nodded her one too many times, "Yes. Yes I do. I wish I had realized it sooner, and I'm sorry it took you practically dying for me to figure it out." She explained while running her fingers through his hair – something she had always wondered what it felt like to do.

"Say it." He quietly requested.

Caroline looked at him and tilted her head, confused but then she realized what he wanted – what he needed. She leaned in closer to him to rest her forehead against his. "I love you Klaus." She finally told him, moving in to place a loving kiss on his lips.

Klaus closed his eyes and relished in the feeling of her lips finally on his. He let out a breath when she pulled back just enough to rest her forehead back on his, and he took a moment to let her words float through him. He felt a surge of happiness, excitement, and love erupt within him. When he had heard her voice calling out his name when he was dying he thought it was simple hallucination, a cruel figment of his imagination to taunt him with thing he wanted the most but would never have. But then he felt her and saw her and she was really there. He thought that if he had to die, it wouldn't be so bad if she was the last thing he saw before he fell into darkness. And it wasn't. But then suddenly he was pulled back out of that darkness and could breathe again and the pain was subsiding. And that's when he heard her. Sobbing on the floor and mumbling things even his enhanced hearing couldn't pick up. He was about to engulf her into his arms when she got up and started to apologize to him.

And now she's here, in his arms, telling him that she loves him. She, Caroline Forbes, the baby vampire full of light loves him, Klaus Mikaelson, the evil original hybrid. He almost couldn't believe it, but he could not deny the look in her eyes. Nor did he want to at this point. He just wanted to bask in her light and love and never let her go, and if he got his way he never would. And if Caroline got her way she would never let him.

* * *

**So? How was it? Good or did it totally suck?**

**I have the tendency to always write Caroline saving Klaus in some way and I don't even try to, the ideas just happen. I'm not sure how others like the dynamic of Caroline saving him as opposed to him saving her.**

**Also, I tried my best to catch any spelling mistakes and what have you so apologies if I missed any.**

**Anyways, feedback would be pleasant.**

**And reviews are welcomed.**

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